Tolumnia's

[Franco24]

Hey everyone! I haven't posted here in quite some time, but I've got some new chids from Brian to show off. Lemme know your opinions





I received Tolumnia Lei Lei and Tolumnia Genting Orange. Both appear to be in great shape, but I'm slightly worried about the one's roots. What do you think?

[orchidraver]

No tolumnias in my collection, but those look like beauts! WOW, those are some roots, excellent.

Great chatting with you too!

[kavanaru]

Tolumnias are very tough, but they can be easily killed by overwatering (and Tolumnia overwatering can mean underwatering for other orchids!). The best way to grow them is mounted and water them on a "daily" basis. Important is that the roots dry out between waterings. A friend of mine achieves this also with potted plants using large charcoal and bark pieces (I killed one usingthis method!).

I have now two Tolumnia Hybrids. Both mounted, and the mounts inserted in clay pots... they are doing very well

another friend of mine grows them on pieces of EpiWeb and they seem to love it. The fine roots grow into the Epiweb. He commented that at the beginning he needed to water more frequent (daily), but once the plants were stablished and many roots had grown in the EpiWeb, then watering every second or third day was enough (depending on climate of course)

[got ants]

I have a total of 9 Tols. I had one pass away shortly after I got it, and another that's on life support.

But, they are my new fav genera of orchids.

What I have found is the species are more fragile than the hybrids. I have one that is attached to a tree that shows no roots, while my Tol Variegata and Tol Bahamensis have roots coming from in between the leaves.

Like said before. make sure to have the dry in between waterings. It was recommended to me to water them in the morning, so they are dry by night time.

Good luck and those look like some healthy plants. If you don't mind me asking, but where did you get them?

[Franco24]

Originally Posted by got ants

Like said before. make sure to have the dry in between waterings. It was recommended to me to water them in the morning, so they are dry by night time.

Good luck and those look like some healthy plants. If you don't mind me asking, but where did you get them?

Would you recommend dunking them into water each morning and have them dry by night, or mist the roots during the morn and afternoon to ensure they dry?

I purchased these little guys from Brian (IncredibleOrchids) on eBay. They're so adorable and you can fit them anywhere ... I think I've found my new addiction.

[Ross]

The roots look very near to decay, to me. They should be allowed to dry completly overnight. This is difficult when they are packed so tightly. As the others have said, one sure way to grow them is mounted (mimics nature). I choose to "plant" mine bare-root in clay pots. I use a few large charcoal chunks just to prop up the plants and keep them from falling out of pots. I also use tree fern slabs, baskets, etc. The idea is to water daily by dunking, then keep in a draft so they dry out. Keep in bright light so the leaves turn reddish. Fertilize often when growing. Hope this helps.

[Sandy4453]

I had 8 last summer and by the end of this summer, it was down to 1 & 1/2. I screwed up, big time with these. (2 lost to scale).

I have practically every growing medium to use but I've never bought the EpiWeb. Ross, do you think it's time to get some or should I transfer mine to tree fern pots?

[kiki-do]

I have three of these. So far so good. One is mounted and the other two look like yours in those tiny clay pots. I prefer the clay pots, myself. I dunk them in the morning and then let them dry out. (you didn't really mean to put them in a "draft" did you Ross?) Anyway, no fuss, no muss on these guys in the clay pots. The mounted one is harder to water, as I do dunk it, but everything gets wet and not sure if that is okay to submerse the leaves too. But keep in mind, I am an ol fuddy duddy. I love Tolumnias! They are my new favorite orchid. They are beautiful and don't require much room or care, really. In fact, sometimes I forget to dunk them for a couple days, and they are fine.

[Franco24]

I agree with you guys, that the roots don't look so well. I decided to pull the other tolumnia out of its pot to see one growth that has no viable roots.

I'm going to leave them out of the pots for today to dry up and then tomorrow go purchase a 2"-2 1/2" clay pot and prop them up in those. Sound any good?

[Ross]

Yeah, I think that will be your best bet. Expect the plant to look wilted until it grows new roots. Yes all of my plants sit in a draft caused by 3 fans running 24/7 across the bunch. I can't think of any orchids that do not at least tolerate constant air movement. Even my tank has two fans inside running 24/7, and a third running through-wall exhausting the air. It runs for 3-4 hours at nite to dry out the air for those living in relatively constant moisture. In the end, epiweb should be fine, open clay pots should work well as well. Just place the root ball into a pot a little larger than the ball and stick a few chunks of charcoal in to hold the root ball and keep it from falling out. You could also tie it in with plastic plant ties (instead of the charcoal.) with these methods, you'll want to bathe the plants daily in week fertilizer mix to make up for a lack of other nutrients.